Ash tray



March 17, 1936. F, soUTHWom-H 2,034,424

ASH TRAY Filed NOV. 16, 1934 Patented Mar. 17, 1936 UNITED STATESPATENT- OFFICE The object of the present invention is to pro- .duce anash tray or receptacle with improved, means for snufilng cigarettes, andfor tempo-;,,

rarily holding a lighted cigarette so that it will be graduallyextinguished, if left and forgotten,-

but will afford a short time for a smoker to take his cigarette from theholder and resume his smoke .before it is extinguished.

' or design having a snuffer member secured there-- to of the shape of arelatively thick ring or short ing;-or in other words the amount ofspace pro- To this end the present invention comprises an ash tray orreceptacle of any desired shape tubular sleeve. One or more such tubularor ring shaped members for holding lighted cigarettes may be arrangedupon an'ash tray with more or less. of a ventilating space between thetray and supporting member, whereby a lighted v cigarette can be placedin the holder with. the lighted end toward the tray and be supported inupright position and be extinguished at once or kept burning thereinuntil the ash at the lighted end builds up and closes ofi theventilating space beneath the holder and causes the light uponthe'cigarette to be gradually extin-.

guished. The time that a lighted cigarette can be-kept in the holderwith the light continuing is determined by the extent of theventilating, spaceetween the tray and the holder ring or.

sleeve; .It is preferable to provide the holder for-lightedcigaretteswith means for adjusting this ventilating space so that the holder canbe arranged to maintain the light upon the cigarette for a greater orlesser time. This adjustable featuremay be acomplished by having theholder adjustabl'y mounted upon a support projecting from the tray,orthe tray maybe provided with any other suitable means for adjustablysupporting the holder at a particular height to determine itsventilating space and'conse- I quently the time a cigarette will bevkept burnvided between the tray and the ring or sleeve that supportsthecigarette. It will, of course, be understood that the purposes ofhavinga holder that will only temporarily maintain the light andeventually extinguish the fire, are, first, to

afford: a convenient holder for a lighted cigarette, and, second tosafely and eventually extinguish the cigarette that has been put asideand 1 possibly forgotten.

In order that the invention may be fully un-' derstood, it will first bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawing, and the noveltyafterwards pointed out in the annexed claims.

In said drawing: A

Figure 1 is a'plan view of an ash tray showing two forms of the presentinvention;

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of the same;

Figure 3isaviewsimilartoFigure 1 showing two further modifications ofthe present invention; and

Figure 4 is. a sectional elevation of the same.

I Inthe embodiment of. my lnvention'shown in Figures 1 and 2 of thedrawing I is a suitable ash tray or receptacle having secured to itsupper rette may be placed with the lighted end down to quicklyextinguish or snuff out the fire. This is the simplest form of improvedsnufier 'upon the ash tray. I I

A' further embodiment of the invention as shown in Figures 1 and 2comprises-a tubular member having the dual functions of safelysupporting or holding a cigarette while lighted and extinguishing thefire after a given short p riod. In-this modification the supporter andextinguisher comprises. a, slightly flared sleeve such as .shown at 4 or5, each being mounted upon an arm such as l or ,8 which may be securedto the s leeve or collar 3 which is removably attached-to. the face of,the tray I, as above explained. The arms I and} project oppositely fromthe central snulferv sleeve or collar- 3 and support the sleeves 4 and 5with their lower edges slightly above the Itraybottomtoafiord a slightspace between the tray and each snuflingholder.

This form of the cigarette holder and snufier operates upon theplan ofplacing the lighted end of a cigarette down through-the sleeve ;4 or 5in contact with the tray and permitting the cigarette to burn until theashpiles up from the tray bottom sufliciently tocutolf the air andextinguish the fire as the burning point of the cigarettereaches thesleeve 4 or 5. A partly burned cigaretteC is shown supported in sleeve5- at the right of Figure 2. The arms I and 8 may be'made of bendablewire to adjust the sleeves or collars with reference to the tray, or anyother suitable provision for adjustment may be provided.

Collar 3 carrying arms I, 8 and sleeves 4 and 5 may be removed forcleaning, and arms I and 8- may be adjusted by bending or otherwise, topresent sleeves 4 and 5 closer'or further away from the bottom of thetray, to adjust the period that a lighted cigarette will be held andpermitted to burn before being snufied out.

in one of which a upright post I is mounted upon the tray l and supportsa pair of slightly flared snuiling sleeves II and I2 set at an angle of120 upon a carrying split collar l3 which is mounted upon andIrictionally engages the post ID to support the sleeves H and I2 incontact with the bottom of the tray or receptacle for the quick snumngof a cigarette, or at the desired distance'above the-tray to provide anopen space of suflicient extent to permit a cigaretteto burn for aperiod after being placed in the supporting and snufling sleeve II. orII. A projecting knob ll upon the split collar it provides a convenienthandle for raising and lowering and adjusting circumferentially theholding and snufling sleeves ilandl2.

I also-show in Figures 3- and 4 of the drawing a form of holder-andsnufler comprising an arm I5 pivotally mounted atl8 upon the side.flange la of the ash tray- I and carrying at itsfree end a snufiingsleeve I! which, because of the pivotal mounting of arm l5, can be movedinto position shown in full lines in Figure 3 above and in contact withthe flat flange la of the tray l to close 5 for convenient removal ofparts to facilitate cleaning the ash tray. I

I have found a relatively thin-ring to be a sufficient encirclingsupport for a cigarette to ensure the final snufiing of the fire fromthe cigarette when the ash builds up from the bottom of the tray to thesupporting ring. If the ring is toothin it willnot invariably arrest andsnuff the fire. -Holding'-sleeves or collars with somewhat greaterlength or longitudinal extent of encircling wall are in most cases moredesirable than the thin ring so long as there is ample room to providethe necessary ventilating space between the holding member and thebottom of the tray to permit the cigarette to burn to the desired extentbefore being snuffed.

. The snuiiing ring or sleeve is not intended to have any gripping holdupon a cigarette but is to have a boreof sufllcientdiameter to freelyreceive the average sized cigarette, which slides freely through thesleeve and drops-till its lighted end contacts with the tray bottom, thecigarette being supported in upright. position upon its lighted end. Asthe cigarette in the snufiing sleeve continues burning, ash forms andaccumuiates upwardly under the cigarette until the fire snufiing membercomprising a sleeve-shaped ciga-.

7 rette supporting member which is adjustabiy mounted upon the tray topresent it with its lower edge in difierent spaced relations to the trayfor determining the rapidity of the snufling action of said member upona burning cigarette. While I have shown several forms in which myinvention may be embodied I would have it understood that other formsand modifications can be made within the spirit of the invention and 5which is not limited to any particular form,- but is of the scopedefined by the claims.

. I claim:-

1. The combination with an-ash tray, of a ciga rette holding and delayedsnufling member com- 10 prising-an-open end sleeve of approximatelycircular cross section mounted upon said tray, and

adjustable means determining the rapidity of the snufling action of saidmember. a

2. The combination with an ashtray, of a ciga- 15 I rette supporting anddelayed extinguishing menn- 1 her comprising a tubularcigarette-embracing collarand an arm carrying said collar and mov'ably.

mounted upon said tray to present said collarin contact with said trayin one position andspaced 20 f v above said tray in another position. I

' 3. The combination with an ash tray, of an upright support projectingfrom'said tray, and a plurality of singularly-arranged tubular holding Iand delayed extinguishing members mounted- 2 5" I upon said support,said members being adjustab toward and away from said tray.

4. The combination with an ash tray,'oi a delayed snufiingcigarette-supporting member c0m.-; I

prising an open-end tubular sleeve, and adjustable .30 mounting meanspresenting said sleeve in upright position upon said tray to looselysupport a burning cigarette on its lighted end in saidtray, the openlower end of said sleeve being adjustably spaced from the tray torlimiting the venting or 35 4 a burning cigarette to a desired timeinterval.

I 5. The combination with an ash tray, of a delayed snuifingcigarette-supporting device comprising a plurality of open-end tubularsleeves,

and adjustable mounting means-for said sleeves'40 presenting them in.upright position above said tray to loosely support a plurality ofburning -'cigarett'es. with their lighted ends downwardly in said tray,the lower ends of said sleeves being adjustably spaced from. the trayfor, limiting the 45 venting of the burning cigarettes for the desiredtime intervals.

6. The combination with an ashtray, of an up-,- right support'upon saidtray, a sleeve adjustably mounted upon said support and movable toward.50 and'away from said tray, and tubular holding and extinguishingmembers mounted upon said sleeve.

'7. The combination with an ashtray, and a snuifer carrying arm mountedupon said tray,'of

a delayed snufling cigarette'supportin'g member 55 comprising an openend tubularsleeve movably mounted upon said carrying armand verticallyadjustable thereon to be presented thereby in upright position abovesaid tray tol loosely support a burning cigarette with its lighted endin said ()0 encompass a cigarette, whereby said member may be presentedin different desired spaced relations to said receptacle to efiectdifferent time intervals of snufiing. FRANCIS E. SOUTHWORTH.

